The Phoenix
by TheDeadlyEscape
Summary: Rose loved Dimitri, and she always hoped one day he'd love her back. Maybe one day he'd stop hurting her. She still held on to that hope firmly when she met Adrian Ivashkov, but he began to change her perspective. Can she find real love with Adrian or will she hang onto her dream with Dimitri?
1. Prologue

**(A/N)**

**Dimitri is changed in this story. Instead of long brown hair, he has shorter black hair. He also only has one sister, Viktoria.**

**So, tell me what you think and how I can make it better!**

**Updates will be slow, but I'm not giving up on this story. I just started freshman year and it's not too easy. I'm learning how hard it actually is to learn Spanish now.**

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**Chapter 1**

_"Lissa, I do not fit in here. Why the hell did I ever allow you to drag me here?" She turned around to send me a confident grin and walked closer to the bar. Women openly glared at me and men gave me lustful glances. If I'd known it would be this bad, I would've opted for a long-sleeved gown, not a strapless mini dress._

_"Believe it or not," Lissa said. "You stand out in a good way. You're beautiful." I rolled my eyes and she handed me a shot glass of something, which I quickly swallowed._

_"You're hilarious, Liss." I scanned the crowd. Fewer people were staring now, but there was no mistaking the tension in the air. These people didn't like me and, honestly, the feeling was mutual. "I'm a highschool drop-out stripper. I highly doubt anyone's jealous of my beauty." My best friend rolled her eyes and emptied her glass, setting it back down on the bar._

_"Look, I have to go mingle with the boss. Maybe my presence at this damn party will earn me brownie points. I need that promotion." She flipped her long hair over one shoulder. "Coming?"_

_"No, he's the worst of all. It's no secret your boss is an asshole." She shrugged and made her way through the crowd, walking to where I presumed he was flirting with the young waitresses and would probably get one in bed tonight. He might be an asshole, but he was a good-looking asshole._

_I turned the opposite way that she had gone and walked. I didn't know where I was going, but I didn't just want to stand there looking lonely. Surely I could find someone to chat with until she was ready to go. My eyes landed on a man in the corner. He was different from the rest. His black hair was messy, almost as if he hadn't even cared to comb it this morning, but it was sexy as hell._

_I noticed he was over six feet tall, probably six-six. His dark brown eyes moved over to make contact with my own and my breathing stopped as I looked into the dark, intense orbs. I looked away, gasping. Quickly, I gathered up all my courage and looked him back in the eyes. A smirk played on his pink lips and I took a few steps toward him, swaying my hips with my movements. _

_When I reached him I tilted my head up to keep eye contact and sent him an alluring smile._

_"My name is Rose Hathaway," I whispered. "Yours?"_

_"Dimitri Belikov."_

That was then. This was now. He was no longer the sweet guy that would buy me flowers or take me out to eat. Now he was an abusive asshole that I couldn't leave because for some insane reason, I loved him.

"Roza," he whispered, his accent making my shiver. I felt his breath on my neck and his arms around my waist.

"Yes?"

"It's been a while." _Two days_, I thought to myself.

But aloud I replied, "It has." There was no use in fighting. In the end he would get what he wanted. So I turned around and crashed my lips to his and moved my hands to started pulling his shirt up, revealing his tan stomach.

There was no escaping this prison, this prison of pain. I worked nights as a stripper, a job he wouldn't let me quit. At first it was because he didn't want to be the reason I quit a dependable job, and I believed him. Then it was because it kept me flexible. Then it was because it helped me learn moves I could use in bed. Honestly, I think it was because he wanted me to be as miserable as possible.

Finally getting his shirt off, I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling his hair gently. He grinned and let me go, falling back on the bed. Then he nodded, signaling for me to go. I used one of my job moves and walked to his seductively before I got on the bed and started crawling, kissing my way up his chest to his neck. I slowly moved my hips in a circular pattern. He let out a small groan.

Sometimes I didn't even feel like his girlfriend. I was more like his toy that he used. If there wasn't sex involved, he didn't want me. I was nothing to him. But that didn't lessen my love for him. Who knew? Maybe one day he'd learn to love me back. Until then, I'd have to settle with what I had.

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**Short, but it is a prologue. Please review and tell me what you think, okay? Okay. **

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	2. Chapter 1

**(A/N)**

**I don't think I've disclaimed this story yet. So here it goes. The genius Richelle Mead gets full credit for the characters, but the plot is mine.**

**I'd love it if you'd follow my instagram and twitter. The username is thedeadlyescape for both. Sorry, I just love that username . . .oops?**

**For any comments or questions, leave a review and I promise to reply to all of them.**

**Chapter 1**

Sure, Dimitri was a complete asshole, but I loved him. I loved him with all my fucking heart. He used me, I know that. He cheated on me, I know that too. But for some reason, I stayed with him. For some reason, I kept my job as a stripper just to please him. He seemed to like knowing men drooled over me so much, but he was the only one that had me. Hell, i bet he even bragged.

Lissa and Mia told me all the time to dump him. Lissa invited me to live with her and Christian. Mia did the same with her and Eddie. But I couldn't. It's not that I would mind living with them, it's just that I can't leave him. I can't.

No one else would take me.

"Rose!" his deep voice yelled. I opened my eyes and yawned, pulling my covers over my head. "Rose!" I sighed and put the pillow over my face, trying to keep any kind of sound from entering my eyes. A few seconds later the covers were pulled from my naked body and the pillow was tossed away.

There stood Dimitri beside the bed where I laid, completely naked. He grinned and leaned down to kiss me.

"It's time for your interview and then you have to go to work." I let out a slight groan and reached for the covers, but Dimitri was quicker. He scooped me up in his arms and then carried me to our bathroom. He set me down, my feet on the cold floor, and then kissed the top of my head.

"Get ready. Dress . . . special." Then he left, closing the door behind him. I looked at the clock on the wall. Nine in the evening. The interview was at ten and work started at ten forty-five.

So I stepped into the shower. The water was hot, but it woke me up. I double conditioned my hair to make sure it was soft and then I got out. I had to wipe off the fog from the mirror before I started getting ready.

Over the years, the complicated makeup had become easy. I had to do a special type of winged eyeliner that made my eyes huge. Dark red lipstick that makes my white teeth even whiter. I had to get used to the feeling of lipstick and the eye makeup, well, I was never any good at it until I got this job.

"Are you ready yet?" Dimitri yelled from the living room.

"Almost!" I screamed back. I got a handful of gel and ran it through my hair. If I let it dry it'd be straight, but the gel made it dry into voluminous waves.

I had just walked out of the bathroom when Dimitri entered the bedroom. He looked me up and down and walked to the closet we shared. Half was mine, the other half was his. After a few seconds he threw two pieces of fabric onto the bed and then walked over to grab me. He pulled my body to his and looked me straight in the eye.

For some people this is a romantic position. For me, not so much.

"Don't embarrass me," he warned in a deep voice. Then he pulled my hair back from my chest to pull it over my shoulders and kissed my neck. Quick as a snake, his hands pushed me away and to the bed and he smiled before walking out. A sigh escaped my throat and I looked over at my assigned outfit.

It was, as expected, not much. A pair of shorts that would no doubt fit more like underwear, a loose black crop top that sparkled, and a black push-up bra. After I changed I walked back to the bathroom to apply sparkly black eyeshadow to match the top, and then walked out.

Dimitri was waiting in the living room, watching TV. When he heard me, he checked the clock, nine forty-five, and then got up, switching the screen off. His feet were the only sound in our apartment as he walked over to the door and opened it for me.

On the way, I picked up my black trench coat to cover my attire in case there were any nosey neighbors. There usually was, considering we often had screaming matches. I would be nosey too if I was kept awake all night be another couple's arguments.

It was no secret that I was a stripper, if you went to the bar I worked at you'd know, but I didn't flaunt it for all the innocents who didn't know. It wasn't something I was proud of.

"His name is Jared, and he only takes the best. So be a good girl, okay? He pays so much more than your job now, and they have better rules. You know I hate how men can touch you there."

"Only to give money and at private dances," I assured him. He glared at me for a second from the side of his eye.

"I don't care when, where, or why. No one but me should be able to touch you," he growled.

"Then maybe we can forget about the interview," I suggested. "I could get a job at a store or something until I find -"

"Shut up!" he yelled, slamming on brakes. The car stopped violently and I slammed against the dashboard. He jerked me back in my seat, ignoring other car's beeping horns. "You will not quit, do you hear me? I don't want some ugly store worker." His voice got softer, and so did his grip. Gentle hands soothed their down to cup my ass. "I want a sexy dancer." That was his thing. He never called me what I was, a stripper. I was always a dancer. It was never a strip club, it was a bar or a dance club.

Slowly, the car started to move again and my heart started to slow back down. I leaned back in my seat and bit my lip. Did I want to keep selling my body? No. I had the money now to stop, I wasn't a broke teenager anymore. I was twenty-one and had the ability to be independent. But I couldn't leave Dimitri.

"As I said, Jared will make our life together better. His club has better rules and pays more. Plus, girls never take off their bottoms here. I hate it when other men get to see that, I want you to be able to keep your panties on."

It only took a few more minutes to get to Jared's club. I waited for Dimitri to come around and open the door for me. He put an arm around my shoulders and kissed my temple.

"Just be your sexy self and he'll love you." I just nodded and let myself be lead into the building. Dimitri found Jared quickly. He was in a booth in the very back corner of the room. Soft music played. Branching off from the small stage, three large platforms with poles were all occupied with dancing girls. As Dimitri had said, all of them had on bottoms. Two still had bras on, the one in the middle did not. That said, she had the largest crowd.

"Dimitri, my friend," Jared called. "How's life been to you?"

"Great, Jared, great. This is the girl I told you about, Rose. She's also my fiancé." As if on cue, I held out my left hand to show the sizeable diamond. Jared nodded in appreciation.

"We won't allow you to wear that on stage, I'm warning you. It can turn away customers and, well, don't want you getting mugged." After Dimitri had introduced me as the 'fiancé' a sparkle in Jared's eyes had disappeared.

"So, she's _your_ fiance?" he asked. Dimitri nodded, looking proud. He sat and motioned for me to get on his lap. I did as told. Jared gave me a questioning look, and then returned his gaze to Dimitri.

"And you're okay with Rose doing . . . . that?" He nodded to the strippers up front. Dimitri nodded.

"Yes, why else would I bring her here? She loves to do it and I love to watch her." _Lies_, I hissed inside my head. I absolutely despised it and he knew it.

"So, I have an opening, and I can guarantee that the girls will welcome you with open arms." He raised an eyebrow at Dimitri, almost like a challenge. "I'd like to know if you're any good or not."

"I sent you tapes," my fiancé interjected.

"I know, but I need real life experience. How about a lap dance? Now." I looked at Dimitri and he nodded, not seeming bothered. Jared kept a close watch on him as I stood and walked towards him. "Use the rules of your old club," he whispered. I nodded and began. Jared's hand hovered over my hips for a minute, before grabbing them and then jerking me down to straddle his lap. I gasped and then tried to recover, getting back up, but Jared wouldn't let me.

He held on tight to keep me there. So I worked with it. I looked him in the eye and flipped my hair started to move my hands over him and well, giving a lap dance. Soon he let go of my hips and I stood, walking around his chair to put my head on his shoulder, breathing onto his neck and roaming my hands over his chest.

A few more minutes of my performance, and he nodded, shrugging me off. I quickly went back to Dimitri, who was radiating anger.

"I thought the purpose of this," Dimitri said with gritted teeth. "Was for no one to touch her."

"It is, but I wanted to see how she used to do it." He looked me in my eyes. "From this point on, if a man touches you, report him. If you touch them it's okay." He stood, letting out a deep breath.

"Rose, if I could have a word with you. Alone." I nodded. "How about your fiancé go warm up the car and wait our front?" With clenched fists, Dimitri obeyed. As soon as he was out of hearing range, Jared looked at me with a serious expression.

"Your life if your life, and I can't tell you how to run it. But leave that man you call your fiancé. Any man that would let his fiancé strip, _encourage_ it, doesn't deserve her. Drop him and get out of this life, because it's not a good one." I bit my lip.

"Is that all you wanted to say?" I asked.

"And you start tomorrow night." I turned and left.

As soon as I got in the car Dimitri asked what he said.

"That I start tomorrow night." He nodded, satisfied with my answer. "How about I skip work tonight? We can go home and watch a movie or something." Dimitri gave me a devilish grin.

"Or something? I have a better idea."

At that moment, I regretted what I had said.


End file.
